Witcher 1 remake is going open-world with extra content: Can it potentially affect the lore

The Witcher series is pretty iconic at this point after the revolutionary Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which established CDPR as a household name in the gaming industry. The same talented folks at CD Projekt Red after the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, have announced a remake of Witcher 1 which made the old fans really excited. However, a new update from the developers at CDPR suggests that Witcher 1 remake is going to ditch the semi-open-world setting of Witcher 1 in favour of bringing in the open-world structure of Witcher 3 to the Witcher 1 remake while adding some extra content related to the narrative. This news might worry the fans as the magic of the first Witcher game might get worn out by the new addition. That’s precisely why we’ll discuss the whole announcement made by CDPR and the potential effects it might have on the freshness of the Witcher game that started it all.

Witcher 1 remake: Effects of opening up

Opening up or turning to an open-world setting might look to have many huge implications but The Witcher veterans might react otherwise as the story and structure of Witcher 1 is designed in such a way that the open world won’t affect much in the narrative experience front.

The players previously had access to one single area as they were playing the part, as soon as they finish the area narratively and move on they couldn’t go back to that specific area and a new area with new objectives and narrative quests opened up which they then could explore so if anything having an open world setting would benefit the concept as the players can backtrack or visit the previous areas as they may deem fit.

On the other hand, one concern may remain that the game was designed episodically as the newer areas you unlock would give you newer quests and if you’re given access to the later areas at the very start then it may change the flow of the game revealing at the very least late game areas and hints. However, this is a ground-up remake so this design philosophy has to be thrown completely and it requires to be designed as an open-world game and handle the quests accordingly.

Witcher 1 remake: Changes in content

The folks at CDPR have announced that they’re going to add some new content to the old Witcher 1 game which made the existing fans worried as the content in Witcher 1 is carried all the way over to Witcher 3 and even the slightest change in the events of the game might end up completely destroying the lore.

However, it seems very unlikely that CDPR would let such an oversight happen and the additional content might just be newly added side quests as the game is turning into an open world so it would definitely need a lot of extra content just like The Witcher 3 and it might not affect any of the main narratives. The intertwining nature of side quests also might worry the fans however, side quests and additional contents are very unlikely to cause any harm to the excellent narrative saga of the Witcher series

There’s only one concern over the changes

The Witcher series is an amalgamation of storytelling brilliance and a closer-to-perfect open world than most of the major gaming names in the industry so definitely crafting the right open world for the Witcher1 remake shouldn’t be a concern for CDPR fans.

However, there’s only one major concern which can potentially affect the original fun loop of Witcher gameplay and that is side quests. Before the release of Cyberpunk 2077, this wouldn’t have been a concern as CDPR has proved with Witcher 3 their competence in crafting the finest quests with immense depth just like Bethesda. However, Cyberpunk 2077 had some serious bloating in the side quest department admittedly with some completely undistinguishably marked standard CDPR-style quests.

Is the Witcher 1 remake change a welcome one

Witcher 1 isn’t a very divisive game, quite opposite actually and the impact of an adverse change in the game can result in a cataclysmic response from the fans. The changes announced so far by CDPR to date sound pretty toothless in terms of harming the quality of the game, in fact, they could be very competent in terms of strengthening the game and the source material’s actual portrayal in this medium. As of right now, there don’t seem to be any worries about in terms of the Witcher 1 remake as the game is in safe hands it seems.

What do you think about Witcher 1 remake announcements? Let us know in the comment section!

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